Just wondering if anyone has came back from a tibial plateau fracture to ride again? Being I'm 29 and have a 12" plate with 13 pins in left leg from moto, and now a plate with 4 pins in my right leg, is the grave next for me? My heart dont beat without an adrenaline rush.

I was going for an Indy glide and landed just like seen in the pic below, I think due to slack in the rope. Totally busted my **** up and displaced my lower leg about 3 inches to the right. Got some peroneal nerve damage, hopefully just stretched. Been 4 weeks post op tomorrow. Docs still not letting me put weight on it for fear of popping off that golf ball sized bone piece. They scoped my knee on all four corners, said he was picking out bone fragments everywhere. Still dont know about ACL, MCL, PCL, and whatever the fug else there is, but all tendons around meniscus was tore, dont know if meniscus survived, docs were just concerned mainly about fracture for now. I am out of range of motion brace after only 10 days of being in it, full leg brace first 10 days post-op. I have been on a stationary bike 3 days now, got close to 100 degrees of ROM out of knee. Dealing with no lateral movement in my ankle though. Anyone dealt with this injury before?

Look up Tanner Hall's recovery. He fractured both tibial plateaus and tore both ACL's overshooting a landing. He's back competing again. He is a professional athlete who gets paid to get better, unlike a weekend warrior, but it shows what's possible. There's also some videos showing what he went through during therapy. I cringe everytime I see the part where he's sliding his foot up and down the wall - brings back bad memories of my ACL rehab.

Look up Tanner Hall's recovery. He fractured both tibial plateaus and tore both ACL's overshooting a landing. He's back competing again. He is a professional athlete who gets paid to get better, unlike a weekend warrior, but it shows what's possible. There's also some videos showing what he went through during therapy. I cringe everytime I see the part where he's sliding his foot up and down the wall - brings back bad memories of my ACL rehab.

Dude that break is brutal. I broke my Tibia over 2 years ago on the WakeWorld ghost. I wear knee braces so i was lucky enough that i only broke the leg, although i feel it was almost harder to come back from. To this day i still cannot bend my leg all the way...so no kneeboarding for me. But take this as a positive note I was riding 9 months later....Dave also got it on video..so i have that to take with me...hahaha

I have a good friend who did what you describe, broken leg/shattered knee. He couldn't take not being on a board and got back on too early. He rode for half a summer before wrecking the leg for round two. Now his chances of getting back into shape to ride ever again are very slim and unadvised. Moral there, rehab rehab and rehab and do not rush the recovery. If he had waited another few months/year and continued rehab progressively he probably would have been just fine.

Have seen numerous folks rebound from broken legs and torn knees, he's the only story I have for both at the same time.

The big thing is giving the bones time to heal completely and then working the knee back. It's a lengthy recovery, just be patient. Photography/filming editing fills the time on the boat great during recoveries.

Dude that break is brutal. I broke my Tibia over 2 years ago on the WakeWorld ghost. I wear knee braces so i was lucky enough that i only broke the leg, although i feel it was almost harder to come back from. To this day i still cannot bend my leg all the way...so no kneeboarding for me. But take this as a positive note I was riding 9 months later....Dave also got it on video..so i have that to take with me...hahaha

I had a tibial plateau fracture (right leg) attempting a scarecrow off the double up. I did this on 4-20 (2000) when I was 46 years old. I rode Veterans Division at the Nationals in Orlando that year (Aug. or Sept.??) wearing abrace. I continued to ride until recently when i sold my WB boat and boat a pontoon boat (old fart now...58).

46 and hitting scarecrows off the D'Up? my nuts just shriveled up into their sack! Props to you. Thanks for the reply. Good to know from firsthand experience with this type injury. I have quite a while before I even have to decide if I'll ever strap into the bindings again, but the question is lurking in my mind daily. Thanks

UPDATE: tibial plateau fractures suck! I am a few days from being 5 months post fracture. Its confirmed I have stretched the peroneal nerve. Feeling from my knee down to big toe isnt quite all there. I have no dorsiflexion in right ankle, meaning I can't do the motion to per say lift my foot off the gas pedal or turn my foot to the outside. My second EMG test is scheduled for Friday to see if there is any conductivty in the peroneal nerve. I have to wear a foot drop brace to walk so I dont stub my toes on the ground. Totally sucks, as it will be impossible to wear sandals until/unless that nerve regenerates. The fracture near my knee is slowly getting better, not full ROM yet, if ever, and painful when squatting. A TPF is nothing like a broken tibia or fibula. All that hardware rides up under my knee cap when extending my leg. It pops and cracks so much it sounds like a flat tire on a semi hitting the undercarraige at 70 mph. Maybe thats the ligament damage. My right leg is curved and not straight like my left leg. One day I will strap into bindings, but being I can't even jump outta the back of a pickup truck, I doubt any w2w tricks will be happening this year.

Corey, sorry to hear that man. I had the same injury (not as bad as yours looks) to my right knee in sept of 2009 on a tantrum. Got a plate and 4 screws installed, man did that surgery hurt like hell. I was back to 100% in about 6 months I'd say. I did not have any serious ligament damage though, just a bunch of strains that healed by being on crutches for weeks. I can ride totally fine these days. So far I feel no ill effects due to the surgery which is awesome. Only thing is occasionally I feel a burning sensation where the plate is located after a long run, doesn't really bother me, just something that happens from time to time.

Corey, sorry to hear that man. I had the same injury (not as bad as yours looks) to my right knee in sept of 2009 on a tantrum. Got a plate and 4 screws installed, man did that surgery hurt like hell. I was back to 100% in about 6 months I'd say. I did not have any serious ligament damage though, just a bunch of strains that healed by being on crutches for weeks. I can ride totally fine these days. So far I feel no ill effects due to the surgery which is awesome. Only thing is occasionally I feel a burning sensation where the plate is located after a long run, doesn't really bother me, just something that happens from time to time.

not a common injury it seems in the wake scene, more so in snowboard and snow sking. Its good to hear though your back to 100%. Not many success stories after this injury that I hear or read about, so thanks for sharing yours. My fracture was displaced so far to the right it tore everything between the bone and the skin. So possibly the ligament damage is whats taking so long to heal on mine along with the nerve damage.

In August of 2000 I broke my tib plat learning scarecrows(it was my driver's fault, of course). I had 4 mm of separation. 2 90mm screws and that was that. 90 days of no weight. I was lucky in that I had no meniscus damage, nor lig strains like you, so take my experience with a grain of salt. Honestly, my leg still hurts from time to time, but every injury I've had I still feel(Shoulder sub acromial decompression, labrum tears).

Recovery was tough emotionally, so take your time. Set yourself some goals(i.e. light jogging by 4 months), write down your plan (3 sets quad raises each day), and stick to it. Train BOTH legs and your whole body. Many re-occurring injuries happen because A) we focus on the 'bad' leg and B) the 'good' leg takes on a lot more stress. When you're cleared to work out, I chose Crossfit for the overall fitness level. CF made me feel like I could run through walls. Rely on your crew. I was blessed to have great friends who knew my skills (or lack thereof) and cleared me when they thought I was back to right.

Lastly, don't ride until you KNOW you are ready. I don't mean towing behind the boat, you can do that at 4 months. I mean riding, so when you're envisioning stomping the shiat out of that glide. I was "back" about 10 months later. I hope you are too!

just got back from my second EMG test. Looks like I might have a bulged disc in my lower back thats compressing the nerve there also. Could be from the orginal injury, or a different one. I did have a bad fall the week before I broke my leg where I stretched my back out from holding onto the handle to long on what should have been a bailout. It felt like ripped my spine outta my pelvis. Who the freak knows at this point. I think a MRI of my lower back is next. If true, it atleast explains why the nerve is taking so long to heal.